Life-guard for motor-vehicles.



L. LOEB.

LIFE GUARD FOR MOTOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED mmzr. 1915.

1,230,91 1 Patented June 26, 1917.

LEOPOLD LOEB, OF NEUWIED, GERMANY.

LIFE-GUARD FOR MOTOR-VEHICLES.

Specification .of Letters Patent. Patented June 26, 1917.

Application filed January 27, 1915. Serial No. 4,603.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, LEOPOLD Lone, a subject of the German Emperor, residing at Neuwied, Germany, have invented new and useful Improvements in Life-Guards for Motor-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a life guard especially adapted for motor cars,

bicycles and the like, and has for its object to provide an apparatus to efliciently accomplish this end and also to beef such a construction that it will not be easily damaged when struck by the various obstacles with which it must oome'in contact. The essential featureof the invention consists in providing a guard formed of sheet-lron bent into an angle and placed immediately in 'front of each wheel with the point of the angle projecting forward. The lower part of the guardclears the ground by a small amount and is prevented from comlng in contact with the ground by a small wheel which is pivoted near the forward end of the guard. and projects-slightly below it, although the wheel is not normally in contact with the ground. In this way a life guard is provided which pushesaside persons in danger of being caught by'the wheels and also other objects with whloh it may come in contact; and it is so made that it clears the ground at all times and is prevented from coming into contact with the irregularities of the road.

' The method of carrying out the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevatlon of a wheel fitted with the new life guard;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan ofthe same on line 2'-2 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 and 4 are details showing a method of constructing the lower edge of the guard; and

Figs. 5, 6, and 7 are details of a removable top.

Immediately in front of each Wheel a of the vehicle and a short distance above the ground a guard or shield of sheet-iron b bent into an angular shape and having its point projecting forward is secured to arms 0 carried from the axle of the wheel. In

the form of construction shown in the drawings'this sheet-iron guard extends FEEL].- wardly approximately as far as the center of the wheel. The arms 0 upon which the guard Z) is carried are pivotally mounted on journal pieces or brackets e clamped to some non-revoluble part of the wheel axle '(Z.

the pivots n of the brackets e and at their The arms 0 extend rearwardly beyond ends are pivotally connected to vertical bars through which an upward force is exerted 'theguard and the'ground which maybe modified within certain limits according to the nature of the road since a greater clearance will be required on a. rough road than upon a smooth pavement.

Near the front end of the arms 0 but Within the guard b is journaled a wheel 70 the rim of which projects slightly'below the lower edge of the sheet-iron guard. This wheel is not normally in contact with the ground but when passing over a slight elevation servesto raise the guard 6 against its own weight and the pressure of the springs g and so prevents the sheet-iron from coming into contact with the surface.

In order that the construction may be more rigid, bars 0 may be provided extending from they journal m of the small Wheel 70 to the pivot n upon which the arms a are carried.

When the vehicle is in motion the device operates to push aside persons or objects on the road in the path of the wheel so that the wheels do not pass over and crush them.

The clearance may be made so small that nails and the like lying upon the road are swept away so that they cannot injure the snow-plow to clear the pathior the Wheel of the vehicle even when thesnow is quite deep. I I

As, ShOWIl in detail in Figs. 3 and sure bottom part of the guard b may be provided withfa row of narrow steel plates Z mounted so as tooverl'apeach other. These small plates being ofresili'ent material serve .to soften the shocks given bythe smaller objects encounteredin the road. The steel plates Z are notched atthe to'p whereby a pairof lugs is produced uponeach, one of which lugs maybe riveted to the outside of theg'ua'rd and the other to the inside so that the platesare .given a slanting and overlapping position thus tendingto prevent dust from getting inside the guard. The overlapping ends of the plates have, however,-suflicient play so as not to modify the resiliency of the plates.- The structure may beffurther modified by allowing the plates Zto project far enough down tov cont'act with the ground or providing their lower edges with bristles where- ,by thefdust of the road andobjectslikely to injure the tire may be swept aside. lf the plates are allowed. to contactwith the ground it is preferable to provide their lower ends-with rubber strips to take the Wear and .reduce the. ,noise which; would be caused by the contact ofthe-plates with the ground. A rubherco'ating may also be pro vided on thepoint of the guard in order to capes as patent 'inay'te ob ta'i'iid forfiveleents each, t aaaassagin aliases-rmass.

norma position, springs 'upon said bars bearing, against js'aid brackets adapted to yieldingly inaintain said guardin normal position; anda wheel mounted 'upon said arms near their forward'ends.

2. A. life guard for vehiclewheels comprising v. an ngular sheet metal guard mounted upon arms pivotally supported from the wheel 'aiile, said armsQeXtending 'rearwardly beyond the pivotal support, 'vertical bars attached to the ends of said arms and projecting upward; brackets attached to. therwlie'el axle; adjustable stops upon said vertical bars adapted to bear against said brackets and support said guard in its normal position, springs [upon said bars bearing against said brackets adapted to yieldingIy maintain said guard in no'rmal position; and a Wheel mounted upon said arms near their forward ends; and overlapping resilient,platesslantingly attached to bottomedge of guard. v V I In t'estl ony whereof I have signed 'iny na m'etothis specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. j, a j

I I I LEOPOLDLOEB. Witnesses:-

I J;. Wi'rNE'N, K. DEGEN.

. Washington, D. G. 

